Peter Jackson has cleared his stance on AI. The Lord of the Rings filmmaker does not think Artificial Intelligence is ruining movies, at least not when it comes to visual effects. The director spoke openly about the technology during a masterclass at the Cannes Film Festival, where he received an Honorary Palme d’Or.
Amid the constant debate about AI’s future in filmmaking, Jackson made it clear that he saw the technology as just another tool filmmakers could use. He said, “I don’t dislike it at all. I mean, to me, it’s just a special effect. It’s no different from other special effects.”
Despite this, the Oscar-winning filmmaker highlighted that there should be strict protection around actors’ likenesses and performances.
Explaining this, he added, “If you’re doing an AI duplicate of somebody, like Indiana Jones or anyone else, as long as you’ve licensed the rights off the person who you’re showing, I don’t see the issue. It’s when people’s likenesses get stolen and usurped.”
Jackson also shared why he believed the current fear around AI unintentionally hurt motion-capture performances in Hollywood. Speaking about the work of Andy Serkis as Gollum, he said such performances were often misunderstood because people wrongly connected motion capture with AI-generated acting.
“A lot of the current environment, everyone’s so worried about AI,” he said, adding, “I don’t think a Gollum-type character or a generated character has any hope for winning any awards.”
Jackson called that situation “a bit unfair,” especially in Serkis’ case.
The filmmaker also spoke briefly about the upcoming The Hunt for Gollum. The project is directed by Serkis who also stars in it.
For Jackson, handing the project over to Serkis felt like the obvious choice because the actor understands Gollum better than anyone else.
Interestingly, the Cannes event also included a tribute from Elijah Wood, who presented Jackson with the Honorary Palme d’Or.
During his speech, Jackson reflected on the risky early days of The Fellowship of the Ring. He admitted many believed filming the trilogy in New Zealand was a “huge gamble” but early footage shown at Cannes in 2001 completely changed industry perception around the films.
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